RMG workers go berserk in Gazipur
The readymade garment workers burst into protest in Kaliakoir upazila of Gazipur Sunday demanding fixing their minimum monthly salary to Tk 8,000 that forced to suspend production of around 12 units for today.
More than 15,000 workers of different readymade factories in the upazila took to the Dhaka-Tangail highway around 9:30am and vandalised 20 vehicles including buses and pick-up vans, reported our Gazipur correspondent quoting witnesses.
The marauding workers also damaged six garment units in Chandra area.
The road communications on the highway however resumed nearly two hours after when law enforcers managed to disperse the agitating workers from the road.
The demonstration is a sequel of the workers' demand that authorities set Tk 8,000 as their minimum monthly wage which is now Tk 3,000.
Following their demand, the garment owners proposed a 20 percent rise in their basic salary raising the amount to Tk 3,600.
The protest reached its peak on Saturday when the violence erupted in different areas including Gazipur and Savar as the workers had wanted a one-day leave to join a grand rally at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka.
Garment Sramik Samannay Parishad, a federation of trade unions in garment sectors, organised the rally to meet their different demands including raising minimum monthly salary to Tk 8,000.
The demonstration forced the authorities to shut the production for over 400 factories in Gazipur and Savar.
Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan's speech in the grand rally supporting the workers demand draws huge flak.
Sunday's demonstration ensued from Naegra Textile as its workers went on a work abstention around 9:00am.
They came out of their factory, took position on the highway and vandalised at least 20 vehicles.
When law enforcers dispersed them they went to the adjacent factories and vandalised the windowpanes of Eye-Moon Textile, Apex Textile, Eco Tex, Divine Textile Ltd and Gumti Tex.
Later, the workers of nearby units joined the agitating ones blocked the highway for second times.
At one stage, police charged batons and fired several rounds of teargas constrains in a bid to free the highway, said Omar Faruk, officer-in-charge of Kaliakoir Police Station.
Facing police resistance, the workers hurled brick chips on them.
No injury was however reported from the scene.
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